1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a microscope, and in particular to the structure of the support frame thereof for supporting a body tube and a stage.
2. Related Background Art
The base of a microscope is a portion located at the lowermost portion of the support frame of the microscope, and is generally formed into a horseshoe shape or a square shape. The square-shaped base has the function of stably supporting the overall structure and the function of maintaining the stability of the position of a hand when a focusing handle for focusing or a stage handle for moving a specimen is manipulated.
In order to accomplish the above functions, it is preferable that the square-shaped base of the microscope be sufficiently larger in its bottom surface (footprint) than a structure above the base, for example, a stand, an arm or the like. However, to allow space for placing recording paper on a table on which the microscope is placed or the depiction surface when a depicting apparatus is used with the microscope, it is preferable that the bottom surface of the base of the microscope be small. Thus, the base has heretofore been of a minimum necessary size to keep the stability of the whole microscope.
In such a prior-art microscope, as shown, for example, in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings, focusing handles 120a and 120b are provided at right and left sides on a stand 102 standing upright on a base 101, and a stage handle 130 for moving a specimen is provided on a stage 103 vertically movable in the direction of the optical axis 4 of an objective lens by the rotation of the focusing handles 120a and 120b.
In the prior-art microscope, the focusing handles 120a and 120b and hand-placing portions 101a and 101b just beneath the stage handle 130 are small, as shown in FIG. 4. Therefore he stability of hands when the handles 120a, 120b and 130 are manipulated is not good, although a depiction surface 105 may be secured and recording paper or the like can be placed close by, in contact with a side of the base 101.
The prior-art microscope base as described above is of a minimum necessary size to keep the stability of the whole microscope, and this leads to the disadvantage that when a focusing handle for focusing or the stage handle for moving the specimen is manipulated, there is insufficient support for the side of the hand.
Also, if the base of the microscope has simply been made wider, there has been the disadvantage that although the stability of support for the hand is improved, it becomes impossible to provide space for placing recording paper or the like or the depiction surface when a depicting apparatus is used with the microscope.
In some cases, an auxiliary member for placing a hand thereon is placed so as to be in contact with a side of the hand-placing portion of the base of the microscope in order to improve the stability of support for the hand during the manipulation of the handles. However, if the auxiliary member is placed so as to be in contact with a side of the hand-placing portion of the base of the microscope, there is the disadvantage that although the stability of support for the hand can be improved and the depiction surface can be secured, the space on the desk for placing recording paper or the like will be insufficient.